Gourmet Recipe: Roast Turkey with Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing

I’m sure we all know how to cook the perfect Christmas Turkey, but just in case you missed that lesson, here is a timely reminder from the peeps at Brad’s Wine

Ingredients:

1 medium turkey (about 15 lbs or 7 kgs)

175 gms softened butter

225 gms streaky bacon

salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the pork, sage and onion stuffing

800 gms minced pork / sausage-meat

50 gms dried sage

1 large onion, grated or very finely chopped

4 heaped tablespoons white breadcrumbs

1 egg, beaten (optional)

salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the gravy

2 level tablespoons plain flour

1 turkey giblets

Method:

Make sure the turkey is at room temperature well before preparation, take it out of the fridge six hours before cooking.

Boil up the giblets in two litres of water for use with the gravy later. To make the stuffing, combine the breadcrumbs with the onion and sage in a large mixing bowl, then stir in a little boiling water and mix thoroughly.

Next work the sausage-meat or minced pork and egg, if using, into this mixture and season with salt and pepper. Leave the stuffing covered in a cool place and preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Stuff the turkey, really get the stuffing right into all the crevasses; then rub butter all over the bird, season, lay the bacon over the breasts, and lay back-down onto an oven tray covered in foil. Wrap the turkey in one layer of foil. Cook at 220 degrees for 40 mins, the reduce heat to 170 degrees and cook for a further 3 hours.

Tear away the foil, take off the bacon (serve later as siding) and brown the bird for a further one hour. Continually baste the turkey. To test if the bird is cooked, pierce the thickest part of the leg with a thin skewer: the juices running out of it should be golden and clear. Let the bird rest for 45 minutes, carve. Meanwhile, to make the gravy, tip all the fat and juices out of the foil into the roasting tin. Spoon off all the fat from the juice in a corner of the tin, then work the flour into the remaining juices over a low heat.

Now, using a balloon whisk, whisk in the giblet stock, bit by bit, until you have a smooth gravy. Let it bubble and reduce a little to concentrate the flavour, and taste and season with salt and pepper. Then pour it into a jug and keep warm. Carve the turkey and serve. Oh la la!

Excellent recipe… But I would add one cooking tip I learned some years ago that has served me well. Cook the turkey upside down for the first half of the cooking time. This way as the fat runs down through the meat it stays in the breast keeping the meat juicy rather than dry.